It’s A Tale Of Two Towns As Lyons Recovers From The Floods

LYONS, Colo. (CBS4) – It’s starting to feel like home again for residents in Lyons. Some homes have had electricity for weeks, but now close to 1,000 are getting their water, sewage and gas back.

Emotions are split right down the middle. It’s a tale of two towns as half of the town’s residents are back to normal, but the other half still has a long road to recovery.

Lyons resident Harry Kellogg is on the joyous side.

“We have water and sewage today, and Xcel was here at 7:25 a.m. waiting at our door. It’s priceless,” Kellogg said.

After more than a month, water and gas is back on in about 450 homes and the sewage system is running again.

“It feels good. It feels homey, like having heat and back to life again,” Lyons resident Dustin Roe said.

But on the other side near the river different emotions run through Janet Orback.

“Lyons needs to get up and running again. The fact they can all go home is really super, but it’s kind of a downer,” Orback said.

Orback is on the side of Lyons where dozens of homes are still deemed unsafe. It could take up to a year before things get back to normal there.

“It’s been real hard, but everyday gets better, and this is what we do now. So we’re all trying to just bear it,” Orback said.

Kellogg believes it’s a sign of hope that these two sides will soon become one again.

“We’ve had hopes since day one. We thought it would be a lot longer,” Kellogg said.

The mayor said the town is actually ahead of schedule with their recovery efforts. Starting Monday road blocks near town will be coming down during the day and will only be up at night to avoid looting.